New Programming Language and Runtime System

本研究的重点是系统编程语言，能够构建低级高性能应用程序，如操作系统、数据库和网络系统，形成所有软件开发的核心。C编程语言是一种系统语言，为现代计算提供了基础技术，有数十亿行代码实现小型和大型系统，例如Linux、Windows。然而，30年前标准化的C语言缺乏使现代语言编程更安全、更高效的特性。研究目标是创建C的扩展，称为Cforall，提供现代安全性和生产力特性，同时仍然确保与C及其程序员的向后兼容性。具体来说，Cforall被设计成具有一个基于C编程范式（非面向对象）的正交特性集，这些特性可以增量地添加到现有的C代码库中，允许程序员根据需要学习Cforall，保留对现有代码和员工的投资。传统和新的编程语言与C语言有不同的语法和语义，只能间接地与C语言互操作，并且由于托管内存（所有权/垃圾收集）而不是系统语言。为了实现研究目标，这笔拨款将继续开发Cforall，目前它还处于概念验证（alpha）阶段。持续的开发包括通过完成几个设计和实现目标，将Cforall充实到beta阶段，最终向研究人员和教育工作者发布多个阶段的版本。这些目标包括有效地实现Cforall类型系统，因为它具有复杂的类型统一和用户定义转换的扩展、虚拟指针、更多并发类型以及高级异常、数组、字符串和集合，这些在C语言中都不存在。这个项目的结果是一种向后兼容C代码和程序员直觉的语言，同时增加了现代语言特性并修复了许多众所周知的C语言问题。鉴于C生态系统的持续活力，C的现代转型有很大的动力。

This research focuses on systems programming-languages, able to construct low-level high-performance applications, like operating systems, databases, and network systems, forming the core of all software development. The C programming language is a systems language providing the foundational technology for modern computing with billions of lines of code implementing small and large systems, e.g., Linux, Windows. Nevertheless, C, standardized 30 years ago, lacks features that make programming in modern languages safer and more productive. The research goal is to create an extension of C, called Cforall, providing modern safety and productivity features, while still ensuring backwards compatibility with C and its programmers. Specifically, Cforall is designed to have an orthogonal feature-set based closely on the C programming paradigm (non-object-oriented) and these features can be added incrementally to an existing C code-base, allowing programmers to learn Cforall on an as-needed basis, preserving investment in existing code and employees. Traditional and new programming languages have different syntax and semantics from C, only interoperate indirectly with C, and are not systems languages because of managed memory (ownership/garbage collection). To accomplish the research goal, this grant will continue development of Cforall, which is only at the proof-of-concept (alpha) stage. Continued development involves fleshing out Cforall to the beta stage by completing several design and implementation objectives, culminating in multiple staged releases to researchers and educators. These objectives include efficiently implementing the Cforall type-system because of complex type-unification and extensions for user-defined conversions, virtual pointers, more concurrent types, and advanced exceptions, arrays, strings and collections, none of which exist in C. The result of this project is a language that is backwards compatible with both C code and programmer intuition, yet adds modern language features and fixes many well-known C problems. Given the continuing vitality of the C ecosystem, there is significant impetus for a modern transformation of C.